Blog 9/22

 

THRIVE Director Notes

Posts on this Blog will be directed to help families see what is going on in our THRIVE Program.  Items discussed on the Blog have already occurred.  To keep updated on what’s coming up, please refer to the THRIVE activity calendar or the UCM activity calendar.  Also, if you are interested in learning more about assistance with your son/daughter learning how to drive, please contact Mr. Brunkhorst.  

Director Notes:

We wanted to remind the families that if you hear something from your son/daughter that concerns you, please let your student’s teacher know: Mrs. Shelton for First-Year students, Dr. Manning for Second-Year students, and Mrs. Garnier for third—and fourth-year students. We have had several conversations with the students about where to go in the dorms and during the day. It can take some time to get everyone to understand where to go for assistance. 

Candy, anyone... with Homecoming coming up in a few weeks, if any families would like to donate some bags of candy for the students to hand out, please bring them to Family Weekend.

We still need students to sign up for Homecoming and the Rec leagues, which are on the wall. We will have the Homecoming sign-up sheets in the lobby. There are lots of things for students to sign up for.

First-Year Students:

University Foundations: Joni Shelton

Students finished our discussion of getting off to a good start in college and why college is a good decision for them. They finished with an essay reflecting their start to college and motivation to be here. We then watched a video with motivational speaker Alvin Law. Students then discussed the video and answered questions about how Alvin’s presentation relates to their own motivation. 

Individual Relationships and Health:  Sandra Swainston

This week, we are focused on relationships and dating. The health center presented to the students about sexual health and the importance of being self-aware of what level of relationship you are ready for. The students talked about group date ideas and free date ideas like hiking and watching TV. We have had some great discussions.

Technology Literacy:  Lisa Garnier

This week, students practiced their writing and formatting skills. They composed a three-paragraph letter to their future selves outlining what they hope their lives will look like in 10, 20, and 30 years. They also updated information on Missouri Connections and took some class time to catch up on other work.

Career Exploration: Gary Manning   

This week, we discussed the students' talents and how those talents may go along with what the students may be interested in doing for a career.  The students continue doing the Missouri Connection on careers.  

Second-Year Students:

Transition Planning I: Gary Manning

We have been discussing Habit 1, “Be Proactive!”  The students need to plan ahead for the week. They need to see if they have any activities coming up that may affect getting their class work done, and how they plan for that. We also discussed being proactive instead of reactive.   

Internship I: Gary Manning

In class, we have been discussing how, when you have a job, you will need to be organized.  Further, we talk about time management and have a plan for the day, week, and month.  We discuss having a planner on how to use the planner to be organized and to make sure you do not overlap meetings, classes, work, and schoolwork.

Foods & Nutrition II: Mrs.Shelton

In Foods II, we finished practicing knife skills and continued using an air fryer. We are baking potatoes, using half for potato skins and the rest for twice-baked potatoes. Students also compared cooking bacon in an electric skillet versus a microwave oven. I think we all agreed that the microwave was a greater success and less messy.

Third-Year Students:

Transition Planning III: Lisa Garnier

Our third-year students are creating a workview and a lifeview to help them create a roadmap for the kind of life they want to live. We’ve had some great discussions about how nothing is ever perfect, change is inevitable, and it’s okay to change directions in life to achieve success (whatever that might mean to the individual) and happiness.

Internship III: Lisa Garnier

Everyone is working hard at their internships and keeping up with their schoolwork. They are creating a good work/life balance and succeeding!

Foods and Nutrition III: Mrs. Garnier

We learned about the difference between meal planning and meal prepping. We reviewed how to read nutrition labels and check ingredients on products before we buy them. Finally, we took this knowledge and did a brownie comparison. Students prepared a Great Value box brownie mix, a Betty Crocker box brownie mix, and a homemade brownie recipe. The taste test was epic! Which was better: generic mix, name-brand mix, or homemade--and the winner was homemade brownies. Betty Crocker mix rated slightly better than Great Value, but it was a hard choice, and a delicious choice!

Third-Year Students:

Internship:

Plato: Joni Shelton

Students are getting Plato done. Most of both classes have been keeping up with their 60 minutes of Math, 60 minutes of Reading, and 60 minutes of Language Arts each week. Those who do not get caught up in Study Hall Plus.

THRIVE/Mentor Activities: 

The mentor activity was Pickleball with Kamryn.

The pictures weren’t ready to post by the time we sent out the Blog… Will try to get it in next week.

Great Job Everyone!!  For more pictures, please join our THRIVE Facebook and/or Instagram pages.

Just a few pictures, there are more on Facebook.

Important upcoming dates: 

Next Mentor Activity:  

The mentors will help the students and their families help us decorate the float for Homecoming.  This is during Family Weekend.  We hope to see many of our families.

UCM Athletics:

Football, Soccer, and Volleyball have started.  The games are on your son/daughter’s THRIVE Activities Calendar on Google.

Family Weekend - THRIVE Meet n Greet is scheduled for 9:00-11 on September 27th…  This is a time to meet the teachers and then help with our THRIVE Float for Homecoming.  The mentors will have things set up so that the families and students can help paint the float.  Then there is a home football game, UCM will play Missouri Southern at 1 pm.  It’s a fun time to see how your son/daughter is doing and enjoy the game. 

"This blog is a programming blog written by the director and staff of the THRIVE Program on the University of Central Missouri campus.  This blog doesn't accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. 

The views and ideas expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.  This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.  We are simply telling you what we plan to do in our program and using the blog to help spread what we are doing on a weekly basis."